What a difference a week makes.

Now at 73 species for the year and a sunny warm holiday weekend coming up. We should end up with a good month of May and great start to the 2023 season. Our RG observation count is over 2,500, from 187 observers in 74 counties.

We have several new early flight dates and a number of new County Records. All good.

Still getting new observations on Springtime Darner (keep that up).

Maybe interesting only to me - there was a point a week ago when we had more observations of Rusty Snaketail than we did Eastern Pondhawk. Note that is now longer the case - but a good season for Rusties.

It's Clubtail time, 10 species with observations. Look for tenerals in meadow areas next to waterways.

Skimmer species and observation numbers will be picking up quickly.

Numbers have jumped over the last few days. We are now at 39 species for the year, 38 in May (just missing the Red Saddlebags). The May average for the last 5 years is just over 80 species, so think warm and sunny. We still have 2 weeks of May.

2022 was a record year for Painted Skimmers - 291 observations - double the previous high count. 165 in May 2022 alone. So far in 2023? a total of 4!

But, we are having a record year for Springtime Darner. We're not doubling up the previous total yet, but the current 24 is already past the previous high count, and we are just now in the height of Springtime Darner flight.

Eastern Pondhawk had it's initial 2023 observation on 5/14 - with 1. I had my first yesterday (5/17) at Deer Creek Wildlife Area - and probably saw over a hundred. This is our most frequently reported Ode, numbers will climb quickly. Things happen.

It's been good to have some Variegated Meadowhawk observations - 13 so far in 2023. While short of the 43 we had in 2020, 13 makes 2023 our #2 year. We had 0 in 2022, 2018, 2016, etc.

Common Green Darner was the top of our leader board all through March and April. That glory is now past as the forktails flew by this last week.

Last call on registration for the Jun 17 Dragonfly meeting (see the May 5 journal).

With our data we can keep track of the first observations for each species.

We are in the middle of the big spring increase in species diversity. As it turns out, May 17 (soon!) is our single biggest day of the year on emergence/arrival - with 8 species (see Mar 05 journal for complete list) documented.

Those 5/17 species are:

Northern Spreadwing
Rusty Snaketail
Cyrano Darner
Sedge Sprite~
Elfin Skimmer
Yellow-sided Skimmer
Sweetflag Spreadwing
Slender Spreadwing
Delta-spotted Spiketail

~ Note that we just had observations of Sedge Sprite on 5/14! New early flight for Sedge.

We are up to 31 species for the year, from over 100 observers. Observations now in 60 counties, including 5 new County Records. Unfortunately no observations yet in the priority counties of Van Wert, Auglaize, Hardin, Monroe, Mercer, Defiance, Columbiana, Gallia, Lawrence, Seneca, Crawford, or Fulton.

10 days into May… Observation numbers are climbing and we’re adding species nearly everyday.

Warmer temps and sunshine are helping.

If we follow past trends, the next 2 weeks will see a big increase in numbers and species.

If you haven’t been out yet, now’s the time to find the muck boots and tick spray!

Ohio Odonata Society meeting on Jun 17 at Lowe-Volk Park Nature Center, 2401 OH-598, Crestline, OH.

Registration is free and we still have some available room. If you are interested in attending and haven't yet registered, please send email to jlem@woh.rr.com. The same applies to questions - please send an email.

Thanks! This coming week looks to be warmer, hopefully with some new arrivals.

I'm assuming April observations are mostly complete, I'll update this post if additions arrive.

We did good. At this point 354 observations for April. This is over double the 2022 count (158). The 354 represents 19 species, 44 counties, and 68 contributors.

The species/count at this point:

This includes 2 new county records (Southern Spreadwing in Clermont Co, Swamp Darner in Pickaway Co).

We have 4 new early flight dates (Southern Spreadwing on Apr 11, Familiar Bluet on Apr 18, Red Saddlebags on Apr 19, and Skimming Bluet on Apr 27).

Numbers for Counties with more than 10 observations:

Now on to May! This month signals the arrival and emergence of the majority of our Odonata species. Last year we recorded 4,212 observations - note the sizable increase over April. It would be great if can come close to last year!

April is nearly complete. At this point we have doubled the number of Apr 2022 observations. Our observations now span 40 counties. We recorded our first ever Apr observations for Harrison, Holmes, Huron, Mahoning, Noble, and Union Counties.

The only species from Apr 2022 not yet recorded is Aurora Damsel. Common Green Darner has the most records by a wide margin. 15 confirmed species.

We have 2 new county records (Southern Spreadwing in Clermont Co, Swamp Darner in Pickaway Co).

We have 4 new early flight dates (Southern Spreadwing on Apr 11, Familiar Bluet on Apr 18, Red Saddlebags on Apr 19, and Skimming Bluet on Apr 27).

What a difference two weeks makes. On April 2 we were still looking for our first Dragonflies of the year. Now we have 155 observations from 47 different people, covering 10 species.

Common Green Darner is far and away the most observed with over 100 records. Other migrants that have arrived are Variegated Meadowhawk, Citrine Forktail, and Carolina Saddlebags. Blue Corporal, Eastern Forktail, and Fragile Forktail have started their emergence, other locals will follow soon.

31 Counties have Apr 2023 observations. Holmes and Huron Counties now have their first ever April observations. Refer to the previous post for a map of counties for April.

These are good numbers - for comparison, 2022 only had 23 observations in the period Apr 1-16. The current April numbers are just short of the total for a similar date range for all the OOS database.

Some warm weather certainly helped. Carry on!

Common Green Darners reported flying today (Apr 3) in Montgomery and Lucas Counties - making these the first Dragonflies for 2023. We've had a number of nymph observations reported in iNaturalist, but until today, no adults. 2023 is the first year without March Dragonflies since 2015.

Odonata numbers begin to build in April. We have April observations every year since 2002. Before the recent survey we had many years in the single digits. Starting with the survey year (2017 forward) we're averaging close to 150 for April.

April numbers are not what we will see in May, but worth watching for. Here’s a map of Counties with observations in April. Darker where observations are in the last 5 years. Franklin and Montgomery are the clear leaders in number of April observations. Many counties (22) have only one or two observations. Notice counties that are white – no April observations. If your county isn’t dark pink, here’s your chance to make your mark.

2023 Dragonfly Survey and Ohio Odonata Society (OOS) Annual Meeting

Following our successful one-day OOS meeting in 2022, we are planning another one-day meeting for 2023:

June 17, 2023
Lowe-Volk Park, 2401 OH-598, Crestline, OH 44827
Crawford County Park District

We will start early with some social time and a business meeting, followed by field trips at area wetlands!

If you are interested in attending, please send email to jlem@woh.rr.com. I will provide details as they emerge.